When I called the number, it connects to IC Systems - a debt collection agency.

this number has been calling for the last 2 days when i called back some one picked up and said MRS Asst and from there I was like It's a collection agency.

Called the number and the recording said MRS Associates (collection agency).

MRS Associates of New Jersey
1930 Olney Avenue
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003

They called me at 8:45 in the morning a day or so ago, and they just called me again at 5:05 pm.
WHO ARE THEY?

IC Systems is a JUNK DEBT BUYER - they cannot prove the debt is valid or that ANYONE OWES anything.    THEY VIOLATE STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS!  

THE CORRECT WAY TO HANDLE COLLECTION CALLS AND ILLEGAL TACTICS
HANDLE IT CORRECTLY AND THEY WILL END UP PAYING YOU

READ DEALING WITH DEBT COLLECTORS, RECORDING CALLS AND STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS BY STATE
Debt Collectors DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION!    

The INFORMED CONSUMER IS THE DEBT COLLECTORS WORST ENEMY!

Dealing with Debt Collectors
http://www.budhibbs.com/First.htm
    
Statute of Limitations by State ? always double check YOUR OWN STATE Government Website
http://www.budhibbs.com/statute_of_limitations.htm


Recording calls from Debt Collectors - always double check YOUR OWN STATE Government Website
http://www.budhibbs.com/record.htm


From Federal Trade Commission Website ? FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT
Debt Collection FAQs: A Guide for Consumers
If you?re behind in paying your bills, or a creditor?s records mistakenly make it appear that you are, a debt collector may be contacting you.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation?s consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you.
Under the FDCPA, a debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis, and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them.
Here are some questions and answers about your rights under the Act.

What types of debts are covered?
The Act covers personal, family, and household debts, including money you owe on a personal credit card account, an auto loan, a medical bill, and your mortgage. The FDCPA doesn?t cover debts you incurred to run a business.

Can a debt collector contact me any time or any place?
No. A debt collector may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 in the morning or after 9 at night, unless you agree to it. And collectors may not contact you at work if they?re told (orally or in writing) that you?re not allowed to get calls there.

How can I stop a debt collector from contacting me?
If a collector contacts you about a debt, you may want to talk to them at least once to see if you can resolve the matter ? even if you don?t think you owe the debt, can?t repay it immediately, or think that the collector is contacting you by mistake. If you decide after contacting the debt collector that you don?t want the collector to contact you again, tell the collector ? in writing ? to stop contacting you. Here?s how to do that:
Make a copy of your letter. Send the original by certified mail, and pay for a ?return receipt? so you?ll be able to document what the collector received. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again, with two exceptions: a collector can contact you to tell you there will be no further contact or to let you know that they or the creditor intend to take a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. Sending such a letter to a debt collector you owe money to does not get rid of the debt, but it should stop the contact. The creditor or the debt collector still can sue you to collect the debt.

Can a debt collector contact anyone else about my debt?
If an attorney is representing you about the debt, the debt collector must contact the attorney, rather than you. If you don?t have an attorney, a collector may contact other people ? but only to find out your address, your home phone number, and where you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting third parties more than once. Other than to obtain this location information about you, a debt collector generally is not permitted to discuss your debt with anyone other than you, your spouse, or your attorney.

What does the debt collector have to tell me about the debt?
Every collector must send you a written ?validation notice? telling you how much money you owe within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and how to proceed if you don?t think you owe the money.

Can a debt collector keep contacting me if I don?t think I owe any money?
If you send the debt collector a letter stating that you don?t owe any or all of the money, or asking for verification of the debt, that collector must stop contacting you. You have to send that letter within 30 days after you receive the validation notice. But a collector can begin contacting you again if it sends you written verification of the debt, like a copy of a bill for the amount you owe.

What practices are off limits for debt collectors?
Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For example, they may not:
    use threats of violence or harm;
    publish a list of names of people who refuse to pay their debts (but they can give this information to the credit reporting companies);
    use obscene or profane language; or
    repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.

False statements. Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt. For example, they may not:
    falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives;
    falsely claim that you have committed a crime;
    falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company;
    misrepresent the amount you owe;
    indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they aren?t; or
    indicate that papers they send to you aren?t legal forms if they are.

Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:
    you will be arrested if you don?t pay your debt;
    they?ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or
    legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don?t intend to take the action.

Debt collectors may not:
    give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit reporting company;
    send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency if it isn?t; or
    use a false company name.

Unfair practices. Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For example, they may not:
    try to collect any interest, fee, or other charge on top of the amount you owe unless the contract that created your debt ? or your state law ? allows the charge;
    deposit a post-dated check early;
    take or threaten to take your property unless it can be done legally; or
    contact you by postcard.

Can I control which debts my payments apply to?
Yes. If a debt collector is trying to collect more than one debt from you, the collector must apply any payment you make to the debt you select. Equally important, a debt collector may not apply a payment to a debt you don?t think you owe.

Can a debt collector garnish my bank account or my wages?
If you don?t pay a debt, a creditor or its debt collector generally can sue you to collect. If they win, the court will enter a judgment against you. The judgment states the amount of money you owe, and allows the creditor or collector to get a garnishment order against you, directing a third party, like your bank, to turn over funds from your account to pay the debt.
Wage garnishment happens when your employer withholds part of your compensation to pay your debts. Your wages usually can be garnished only as the result of a court order. Don?t ignore a lawsuit summons. If you do, you lose the opportunity to fight a wage garnishment.

Can federal benefits be garnished?
Many federal benefits are exempt from garnishment, including:
    Social Security Benefits
    Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits
    Veterans? Benefits
    Civil Service and Federal Retirement and Disability Benefits
    Service Members? Pay
    Military Annuities and Survivors? Benefits
    Student Assistance
    Railroad Retirement Benefits
    Merchant Seamen Wages
    Longshoremen?s and Harbor Workers? Death and Disability Benefits
    Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Benefits
    Compensation for Injury, Death, or Detention of Employees of U.S. Contractors Outside the U.S.
    Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal Disaster Assistance
But federal benefits may be garnished under certain circumstances, including to pay delinquent taxes, alimony, child support, or student loans.

Do I have any recourse if I think a debt collector has violated the law?
You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, the judge can require the collector to pay you for any damages you can prove you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, like lost wages and medical bills. The judge can require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000, even if you can?t prove that you suffered actual damages. You also can be reimbursed for your attorney?s fees and court costs. A group of people also may sue a debt collector as part of a class action lawsuit and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector?s net worth, whichever amount is lower. Even if a debt collector violates the FDCPA in trying to collect a debt, the debt does not go away if you owe it.

What should I do if a debt collector sues me?
If a debt collector files a lawsuit against you to collect a debt, respond to the lawsuit, either personally or through your lawyer, by the date specified in the court papers to preserve your rights.

Where do I report a debt collector for an alleged violation?
Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state Attorney General?s office (www.naag.org) and the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov). Many states have their own debt collection laws that are different from the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Your Attorney General?s office can help you determine your rights under your state?s law.

For More Information
To learn more about debt collection and other credit-related issues, visit www.ftc.gov/credit and MyMoney.gov, the U.S. government?s portal to financial education.
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad
February 2009

File complaints with

Federal Trade Commission  https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en

Your State Attorney General
State Attorney General is every state they have offices

Link to all State Attorney General Websites www.naag.org

If you or they are located in NY ? use this SPECIAL Link  www.NYDebtHelp.com
This special website was created by NY AG Andrew Cuomo specifically for reporting illegal debt collection practices.  HE?S CRACKING DOWN AND SHUTTING THEM DOWN!
    
Also report your calls and contacts with debt collectors at http://www.budhibbs.com/index.html  If the company is listed under agencies ? report there. If not on the list YET, click on Watchlist! and add to the list.   You can also post here http://www.collectorsexposed.com/forum2/index.php?board=2.0

http://www.budhibbs.com/debt_collector.htm

The Debt Collector
Money Beggars
Liars, Lawyers,
Con-Men & Thieves

Who Seeks a Career as a Debt Collector?
The average debt collector is male, has a large ego, bounces from job to job, suffers low self-esteem and enjoys using the telephone as an instrument of empowerment.

You shouldn't be surprised to find most of them have great debt problems themselves. (Even though they post on complaint boards that they do not)

Collectors see themselves in a position to take advantage of those they deem weaker, in an effort to overcome their own insecurities.

They normally will talk-over any issues you may have, threaten and intimidate you, lie, misrepresent themselves, abuse, annoy and attempt to push you as far as they can.

only 2 out of 10 are honest and hard working.

The greater percentage are deadbeat scum either just out of, or heading back into a jail cell.  

Collecting is a male dominated business and because of the shortage of skilled workers, agencies are hiring anyone who can walk and chew gum to make their calls.

Social skills, education and career orientation are NOT normally the prerequisites for a debt collector ? money beggar position.


After all, a portion of what they collect from you becomes theirs.
You'll hear standard phrases such as: "what is your intent" or "I'm going to recommend that our client take immediate legal action against you."
The innocent unsuspecting consumer feels threatened, even terrorized by the antics of unscrupulous debt collectors.
The really bad ones will call you at work, violate third party disclosure, or worse, threaten you with arrest or wage garnishment if they don't have the money today!
They'll try to persuade you to pay off old debts using your new credit card, via Western Union wire transfers, bank drafting, debit checks and cash.  They will tell you your credit report will be clean if you just send them the $ MONEY$.
The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) and the National Association of Consumer Advocates, (NACA) assist attorneys across the country in pursuing agencies and collectors who violate the law and your rights.
Collectors are learning that the phone name they use and the perceived anonymity of hiding behind a telephone can easily be overcome with today's modern technology and investigative techniques.

Some collectors are learning first-hand that they too, can be charged with making threats over the phone and that their employers don't provide bail money or legal representation.

Creditors are increasingly becoming less tolerant of agencies that allow abuse and will drop those that don't comply.
I urge you to complain about collector abuse by contacting the FTC, the American Collectors Association, the original creditor and your state bar association (against attorneys), or me if you feel your rights are being violated.

There is a nationwide group of professional consumer attorneys, skilled in debt collection laws that passionately defend the rights of consumers against these illegal collectors. No consumer should ever suffer abuse from a debt collector.

The laws WILL protect you!

Just called and when I picked up, dead silence.

Under the TCPA, a consumer has a right to file a lawsuit and recover $500 for each call that violates the TCPA. The TCPA can also be used in conjunction with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in some situations.  

Generally, the TCPA does not apply to debt collectors making collection calls to debtors. However, if you are subjected to calls from a debt collector and you are not the debtor, you may file a lawsuit against the debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the TCPA.

This right was recently recognized by Judge Legrome D. Davis in a case called Watson v. NCO Group, Inc.  NCO Group is a debt collector that uses automated prerecorded collection calls.  In this case, Mr. Watson alleged he was getting hundreds of calls from NCO Group after he got a new phone number. Mr. Watson claimed he owed no debt to NCO Group, Inc.  Mr. Watson filed suit under both the FDCPA and TCPA.

David Israel, defense lawyer for NCO, argued that the TCPA should not apply to debt collectors.  Judge Davis rejected the argument made by David Israel. The judge ruled that Mr. Watson had a right to sue NCO Group Inc under the TCPA for $500 for each call.  Judge Davis wrote;

[The] Court is convinced that a non-debtor's rights are in fact violated when he is subjected to repeated annoying and abusive debt collection calls that he remains powerless to stop.

Judge Davis' ruling was based upon his interpretation that collection calls to non-debtors violate the privacy rights provided by the TCPA.  

So what can you do if you receive "wrong number" calls from debt collectors?

1. Sign up for the Do-Not-Call registry.
2. Save the calls captured by your voice mail or answering machine.
3. Contact a consumer lawyer.

http://consumerlawyer.typepad.com/blog/2008/02/the-do-not-call.html

Keep receiving their calls even after telling them I am not the person they are calling.  They always seem to call when I am doing something and have to run to the phone.  CAnnot get them to stop calling.  They SAY NASTY
YOU ANSWERED THE PHONE SO YOU ARE THE PERSON----------CAN WE SUE THEM FOR MONEY FOR AGGRAVATION, STALKING ETC. ?????????

For all of you getting calls from these do***ebags on your cell phones, they are breaking federal law and owe you a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $1500 for *each* call.

This is from the United States Code Title 47 section 227, also known as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act or TCPA:
"It shall be unlawful for any person within the United States, or any person outside the United States if the recipient is within the United States ... to make any call (other than a call made for emergency purposes or made with the prior express consent of the called party) using any automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice ... to any telephone number assigned to a paging service, *cellular telephone service*, specialized mobile radio service, or other radio common carrier service, or any service for which the called party is charged for the call."

Every collection agency in business today uses auto dialers and this federal law makes it illegal for them call your cell phone using that equipment.

Just got a call from this number - dept collectors looking for my father, who I have NO contact with. NOT cool to call family about that.

8/20/09   Asset Acceptance is at again.  4 calls this week from assorted numbers.  I always let unknown or 800 calls go directly to voice mail.  Most times the automated system does not connect, but many times is is a female recorded message.  Always the same really dumb message.  These calls are for my 47 yr old son.  We have checked his 3 credit scores and there is NOTHING showing.  Our state Statute of Limitations is 3 years.  This is a perfect case of the bottom feeders paying pennies on the dollar for really old charged off debts that have been handed around so many times that there would be no chance of original paper work being available.  Try sending a certified, return receipt letter requesting that all calls cease and that they should provide all types of verification of said debt in writing.  May or may not work.

I got a new cell phone # eight months ago. No doubt the person who had the number before me owed someone money. That's why the folks at 757-209-2029 keep calling my number, trying to reach the person who had my cell # before me. I called the company, but they dance around my questions. They are a collection agency. Their callers are well trained to NOT tell you much about them. They say they'll remove your number if you give it to them, but I don't trust them.

Recorded message to a cell phone asking for someone who must have been the previous owner of the phone #.

Let me tell you something @sshole, they are calling me too and it's not because MY bills aren't paid, it's because the person who had my phone number before me didn't pay THEIR bills!! I have told them numerous times that they have the wrong number and quit calling but they wont. It's getting really annoying! I would change my number but who knows what debt collectors will be calling me on the new number!

I think this company has been on a tear lately - I count 18 calls from them on my Caller ID within one week, 12 of which came in a three day period. The person they ask for does not live here nor own this telephone number; I have repeatedly told this to the IC Systems agent on the other end of the line, and I also have said that I am quite sure their calls are violating state and federal law. But they continued to call. I contacted our state's attorney general who told me to keep very careful records of when they call and all of my contacts with them so that I can file a complaint.  I could be wrong, but I believe that unless you are the alleged debtor, the debtor's spouse or the debtor's attorney - a collection agency is violating the law if they contact you after you have given them notice of their error.  I have no problem with creditors trying to get their legitimate bills paid, but repeatedly harassing innocent third parties is wrong and perhaps even a criminal violation.

I feel I should add that although some of their agents were rude and harassing, a few of them did behave in a professional and courteous manner.  Also, after my last discussion with them a few days ago where I did speak with a supervisor - they have not called me again.  So hopefully this matter has been resolved.

It is aggravating, especially when you are getting phone calls for someone with your same last name/a relative.  Apparently this debt collector calls anyone with your last name looking for you.  How embarassing and harassing that is when family receives the calls and figures out what is going on.  No privacy, these people are nasty.  I get several of these for my husbands brother, he's never lived with us or shared the same phone number ever.

Im babysitting for my cousin and we get a call from Jessica looking for Chase. I tell her that hes at work and she asks if there is a better time to reach him. He gets home around 5 pm I say. Then she asks if this is Sally and I so no she had a Drs appointment (thats why im here) and should be back anytime. Then she wants to know who I am so I say im the baby sitter. Do you want me to take a message for them? She gives me her name and # for Chase or Sally to call then when we go to hang up she thanks me for my time and calls me SALLY! and quickly hangs up.
LOL

i'm sure you don't pay all your bills...are you debt free? i don't think so. don't act self righteous!

wow...i can't believe that others are experiencing the same problem that i am.  757-209-2029 continuously calls my cell and home phone and never leaves a message. if i knew who it was, i could return the call. they just don't quit.

CRAP! THEY ARE WORKING ON MY NERVES AND THINGS!  STOP CALLING ME!  WHY??????

Pay your damned bills on time and then you won't have to worry about it.

I Just figured it out... it's IC Systems.
But they never leave a message. it's really aggravating.

Debt Collectors.

They just called my house again today. It is like the 4th time today that they have called. When I answered no one said anything so I just hung up. Do you know if there is anything that we can do?

Calls and doesn't leave message

Keeps calling and doesn't leave a message.

no message just keeps calling